High current density wire plating cells are known. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,994,786, 3,894,924 and 3,549,507. The prior art devices disclosed therein provide current densities of up to 12,000 amps per square foot (ASF) and transverse flow of plating solution across the wire to reduce the depletion layer. However, only relatively slow plating speeds are achieved because the plating solutions used in these devices do not supply enough metal ions to the wire substrate to provide uniform plating. This condition results in relatively long and expensive plating processes, as well as nonuniform plating.